Purification of drinking water has been a long-standing problem confronting military personnel and outdoorsmen who spend extended periods of time in remote areas where only naturally occurring water sources are available. For practical purposes, water treatment systems require vehicular transport and thus individuals or small groups operating in areas remote from adequate roads are restricted to purification devices which can be conveniently carried by an individual on foot. Probably the most common device employed for such purpose is a purification tablet which is added to the water when a canteen is filled to dissolve within the water.
Apart from the generally unpleasant taste associated with water treated by the purification tablet method, their employment assumes the individual will carry an adequate supply of tablets, will carry them in a safe place where they will neither be lost nor crushed during strenuous activity, and will remember to use them each time the canteen is refilled. The tablets normally are sized to provide adequate purification for one canteen full of water, and to minimize the unpleasant taste associated with most tablets, the canteen is usually emptied and rinsed prior to each refilling, thereby effectively wasting a certain percentage of the supply of tablets.
The present invention is directed to a water purification system of a size such that it can be conveniently carried within a conventional canteen and to have and maintain effectiveness over numerous refillings of the canteen by employing treating agents which do not have to be supplemented at each refilling.